The Rockin' Foodie

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

What a busy time! With regret, my Thanksgiving weekend post didn't happen. I blame the Tryptophan - I didn't fully wake up until Dec. 3rd. Anyway, Turkey Weekend was great fun! The festivities began with a pre-emptive strike against the impending T-day meal - Team Hamzeh was up early & ran/walked/strollered the 34th annual 5k/10k Dana Point Turkey Trot. Go Team! And then we ate and ate and ate...

In other weekend highlights, college football's cutest fan - Baby Tarek Hamzeh - emerged to root for UCLA in the annual rivalry game against USC. Despite Tarek's vigorous 8-Claps and good vibrations, it was an unspectacular performance by my Bruins... Alright 'SC...Whatever. As optimistic Ella put it, UCLA has a better color scheme. But we had a grand time trash talking, playing poker, & of course eating! Calories for all no matter which team you fancy!

On to Christmas!

To kick things off - The artistry of the only Christmas metal orchestra in the world - The Trans-Siberian Orchestra set to the work of Clark Griswold on Wheaties. Check it out (again probably) - It's Creepy Meets Christmas...

Time to talk holiday music. I like Christmas songs - maybe by January 2nd I am tired of them, but from Thanksgiving until then, I enjoy them. My favorites are "Baby, It's Cold Outside," "Santa Baby", and "I'll Be Home For Christmas" (a sad tune, but lovely). Two out of three of these tunes are on my favorite holiday album this year, She & Him's "A Very She & Him Christmas". Now I know everyone is talking about Buble's "Christmas" and Bieber's "Mistletoe", but my indie rock sensibilities favor this duo's simple and clean interpretation of holiday classics. Zooey Deschanel's soulful voice shines through backed elegantly by M. Ward's acoustic guitar. I also like the track listing which includes lesser known Christmas songs like "Christmas Blues", "The Christmas Waltz", and "Christmas Day" mixed in with the popular favorites. But for you all, I have selected a classic. Enjoy Zooey and M. Ward's take on "The Christmas Song."

And because I love Zooey Deschanel (and to read a full post about her and other talented songstress, Ella G'Sell, click here), I had to include this clip from the BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIE OF THE PAST DECADE, ELF. Zooey plays the part of the cute, but dry elfette that becomes Buddy's (Will Ferrell) love interest. I remember the first time I saw this scene and thought to myself "what a voice!" And she and Buddy are singing one of my fav's, "Baby, It's Cold Outside." Watch it below, then watch ELF this holiday, and listen to "A Very She & Him Christmas". You will be full of holiday merriment afterwards and will have a crazy desire for sugar, candy corn, and spaghetti.

Now on to my now next favorite holiday album - Pink Marini's "Joy To The World" - Aptly named as it pays tribute to Christmas on a global scale. Released in 2010, Joy To the World is a beautiful collection of holiday classics sung in 8 different languages from Chinese to Arabic! I bet lead vocalist, the beautiful and talented China Forbes likes Knafeh. Pink Martini make Christmas classics their own by providing a sultry world-music spin. In true Pink Martini style, the albums contains clever lyric additions and several guest vocalists. My favorite things about this album is that China Forbes actually wrote an original Christmas song - a rarity in the Christmas album marketplace. Below check out "A Snowglobe Christmas" written by China Forbes and "Silent Night" with verses in both German and Arabic.

And now the recipe! As some of you may know, I am Lebanese so it is my great pleasure to share a Lebanese dessert recipe that my mom has been making since I was a kid.
Many thanks to my Mom for her great help in making this post happen! Knafeh is a traditional crispy Lebanese dessert and is a combination of fillo dough with sweet cheese in the center. It's not too hard to make, although you will need to track down the ingredients. Luckily, there are Arabic, Persian, and Armenian stores all over the place now (Glendale, Westwood, Anaheim...) and some Whole Foods also carry these ingredients. Knafeh is great for entertaining all year round, but is particularly festive for the holidays because of the red and green toppings.

Combine water and sugar, and bring to boil. Then add the fresh lemon juice to the boiling sugar water mixture, and let boil for a couple more minutes. To test if the mixture is ready, dip a spoon into the mixture and if it fully coats the spoon and drips off slowly, then its ready. Then add the rose water and remove from heat. Let syrup cool completely at room temperature.

Here is what you do - in pictures!

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Loosen up the shredded fillo and put it in your baking dish. Then shred the cheese into small pieces - you can use a food processor if you have one.

Add the warm melted butter to the fillo.

Use your hands and coat the fillo thoroughly with the butter - this is fun!

Set aside about 1/4 of the mixture which will be the top of the Knafeh and leave the rest in your baking dish.

Spread the remaining 3/4 butter-coated fillo evenly throughout the dish. Then sprinkle the cheese evenly over the fillo, but don't get too close to the edges or the cheese will melt over the sides.

Spread the remaining 1/4 of the fillo mixture over the top of the cheese.

Ultimately, the knafeh will need to be transferred to a serving platter so to make sure the knafeh will neatly fit in your serving platter, place your serving platter on top to measure it.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. The top should be golden brown and cheese should be melted. Your kitchen will smell lovely at this point.

Immediately after removing the knafeh from the oven it needs to be transferred to a serving platter. The easiest way to do this is to place your platter face down on top of the hot knafeh and flip it over. It should come out easily into the serving tray.

Tadah! Immediately pour the cooled syrup over the hot knafeh which will keep it crispy. Sprinkle pistachios to the top and if you have any red garnishes for Christmas - i.e. dollop of cherry glaze in the center, feel free to add it. The traditional topping is candied orange blossoms but those are hard to come across. We get them from Lebanon.

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And the knafeh is ready to be served! You will really impress your holiday guests this year with this dessert! Who needs Gelsons! ﻿

Many options exist on Halloween weekend throughout LA/OC for a spooky evening -- Knott's Scary Farm, Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios, Haunted Queen Mary, & parties a plenty. Thanks to Zoo Croo at KXLU, our punky 4-some decided to follow the hipsters over to LA's The Silent Movie Theater for Cinefamily's Disco Dracula Halloween Party complete with live music, free beverages, a costume contest, and a screening of the great Nocturna - A 1978 low-budget, poorly-acted horror-comedy movie. This campy little flick falls under the category "it's so bad it's good". In brief, the heroine, Nocturna (Nai Bonnet), despite her grand father, Count Dracula's disapproval, follows her love interest, rock guitarist (Tony Hamilton), from Transylvania to Manhattan where she also visits her kooky, but wise, aunt, Jugulia Vein (Yvonne DeCarlo aka Lily Munster). The dated special effects, the cheese-ball lines and delivery, and the uber-70s dancing make this a Halloween classic for me. Check out this short clip to experience it yourself!

After the movie, we headed out to the Cinefamily patio for some air (laced with the wafting smell of Maryjane) and a gander at the costume creativity. Admist the Beetlejuices, Pee Wee Hermans, slutty whatevers, Ramones, Waldos, ETs, and various non-descript Zombies, the best costume was a dude dressed as the movie "Weekend at Bernies" complete with a dead Bernie slung over his shoulder. Another notable costume - a gent dressed as spitting image of Russel Brand with accent to match.

It was an LA Halloween fab eve... and to the iconic punk-rockers who inspired our attire - a classic tune (and my former ringback tone) "Sheena is a Punk Rocker", and as an homage to Halloween, "Pet Semetary". RIP Johnny, Joey, and Dee Dee.

And now on to Food!!! Our recipe is Devilish Deviled Eggs - A Halloween party staple - and as we race into the holiday entertaining season, this is a tasty and easy recipe to keep on hand.

I love Deviled Eggs because the filling possibilities are endless and they can be served elegant or simple and informal! Also, it's impossible to mess them up because if you add too much of one ingredient, you counter-balance with a little extra mayo and mustard.

Here is my version of Deviled Eggs - and you can adjust to taste per your preferences.

Here is what you need:
-8 hard-boiled eggs (I boil a couple extra in case I have trouble peeling one or two - also good to have extra yolks to add to the mix if need be). Click here for how to precisely boil an egg.
-3 tablespoons mayonnaise
-1 teaspoon yellow mustard
-1 teaspoon sweet relish
-1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (adjust to taste)
-1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar (be sparing - a capful is enough!)
-Salt
-Pepper
-Paprika, for dusting
-1 teaspoon finely chopped chives as garnish

Here is what you do:
Cut the eggs length wise and place yolks into a bowl. Add in all the ingredients minus paprika and chives. Smash together with a fork until combined. Then spoon into egg whites. If you want to be fancy, put the yolk mixture into a piping bag with a star tip and fill the egg whites. Dust with paprika and chives.

And finally I leave you with another short 15 second clip from Nocturna featuring Jugulia Vein (Yvonne DeCarlo aka Lily Munster). Check her out here and then a much younger version as Lily Munster below in the TV-Land classic, The Munsters.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Lying on a tropical beach with a fruity cocktail in hand - no phone, no email, no worries. I have at times stared at the Windows 97 "tropical" themed wallpaper and closed my eyes and wished I was basking in the sun on that computer-generated beach... Alas back to reality - No Hawaii, Jamaica, or Kokomo trips for Z this year... but I did enjoy me some good tropical eating & listening - & just for a minute - that little day dream felt a bit less far away...

On this lovely Labor Day weekend and as the Summer of 2011 begins to fade (although soak it up while it lasts - the Fall Equinox is a good 20 days away kids), the good news is that you can bring a little of the Islands right to your home with easy recipes containing ingredients found in your local super market all year long.

Below are Z's picks for a healthy, cool, yet spicy, tropical dinner with many thanks to AG for conceptualizing and preparing this mini-vacation meal.

In a blender or food processor, combine the garlic, 1/2 the cucumbers, 1/2 the bell peppers, the red onion, 1/2 the tomatoes, the pineapple and its juice, vinegar (if using), cayenne or chili powder, cumin, bread chunks, and tomato juice and puree until smooth. If using the blender, it will be quite full so be sure to hang on to the top when you turn it on.

Transfer to a bowl, then stir in the remaining vegetables. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Garnish with cucumbers, lemon slices, or cilantro. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

"Roti" is the name used in the Caribbean for rolled or folded dough turnovers that have a variety of fillings. Here we wrap flour tortillas around a smooth, curried sweet potato filling made more substantial and chewy by the addition of either chicken, beef, seitan, or soy meat products - chef's choice!

In a covered saucepan, bring the sweet potatoes and enough water to cover them to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes, or until soft.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saucepan and add the mustard seeds. Cook, stirring for 1-2 minutes, until they begin to pop. Stir in the bell peppers and the spice mixture ingredients and cook for about 5 minutes, until the peppers are tender, adding about 3 tablespoons of the sweet potato water to prevent sticking.

When the sweet potatoes are soft, drain them and mash them with the lime juice. Stir in the cilantro and meat or non-meat, then add the cooked onions and peppers and mix well. Sprinkle in salt to taste.

Prepare a baking dish with a light coating of oil or cooking spray. Place about 1/2 cup of filling on each tortilla, roll it up, and place it, seam side down, in the baking dish. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until heated through.

And finally, serve hot, topped with a dollop of nonfat sour cream or yogurt, if desired, and some chopped parsley or cilantro. AG and I added side of TJ's mango ginger chutney which was a perfect sweet spicy compliment! Yum!

In a bowl, stir together the buttermilk, pineapple, sugar, and ginger (if using) until the sugar has dissolved.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer. After about an hour, when the mixture has begun to harden, stir it with a fork until it becomes slushy. Cover and return to the freezer for another hour or two, until it is very stiff but not frozen solid. Stir it again with a fork and serve. If the sherbet has frozen hard, remove it from the freezer to soften for about 30 minutes before serving or whirl it in a food processor, scraping down the sides several times, for about 2 minutes, until well blended and smooth. And that's it - No fancy gadgetry required! Our sherbet came out a hair on the runny side, albeit tasty and smiling, so best to freeze this for about 5 or 6 hours for solid consistency.

Onto the music selections for our dreamy tropical mini-getaway evening. Since AG gets the credit for this dinner, we mutually selected music for your listening pleasure... From Mr. AG - The Bomboras - An all-instrumental LA surf band formed in the summer of 1994, sharing a love of 60’s Surf/Garage such as The Ventures, Booker T, and The Sonics. Check out this live rendition of "Garage Grinder" and feel free to bob your head up and down quickly and repeatedly.

And from Z: To go with our Caribbean inspired main-course - Jamaican reggae from Mr. Bob Marley, and to end with a relaxing finish - the beautiful serene voice of Hawaii's great - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole.

Sigh... I can practically feel the gentle breezes and warm sun on my face...

Friday, August 26, 2011

Whatever you fancy - yoga classes, marathon entries, hair removal, botox, bartending, dental work, dining out, concerts - a coupon is likely available somewhere between Groupon, Living Social, Active's Shwaggle, Amazon, Open Table, and Restaurant.com. And to add to the list, Gilt City L.A, my most recent coupon discovery. Guilt City is a site that offers (among other things) discounts for sought-after events in your city - mine being the City of Angels.

My good friend HBJ sent me a link for a Gilt City L.A. event, and it was right up my alley: Up-and-coming singer/songwriter, Andrew Belle, performing at celebrity Chef Eric Greenspan's casually elegant restaurant, The Foundry on Melrose. So we bought the deal!

HBJ w/ art-deco lighting fixtures in background

Set in The Foundry's intimate art-deco-esque dining room, Andrew performed as part of The Foundry's continuing Sunday series featuring singer/songwriters. In fact, the Foundry features live music almost every day of the week. I like :)

As Andrew was warming up and sound checking - HBJ and I opened our customized Gilt City L.A. menus to see what was in store for us. The menu not only featured the specialty appetizer and cocktails themed around Andrew's latest album, THE LADDER, but also had Andrew's bio - a nice touch and helpful for context about his music.

We started with selecting our specialty cocktails. HBJ got the slightly tart, but zingy rum option, "The Ladder", and I chose the Vodka option because it had TANG in it so I had to try it. It was strong, but had a light fruity sweetness - I plan to make a Crystal Light variety at home.

Sufficiently
cocktail lubricated, we were ready for the appetizer, a Beet and Carrot Latke. Chef Eric, quite the latketeer, is well known for his latke varieties. Check out this link to a Youtube video where Eric is making latkes live on the Snyder Diamond coking show. I will admit, I haven't had too many latkes in my life, but the only ones I have eaten were made out of potatoes so a latke made out of root veggies was definitely a fresh whimsy twist for me. The latke had a nice bright red color when you cut it into it - almost like a medium done hamburger patty and a light crisp - like a hash brown but was slightly sweet. It was topped with glazed carrots and a dollop of caraway seed creme-fraiche and was sitting on creamy bed of carrot puree. I really enjoyed it and gobbled it up quickly. What a tasty and interesting low-carb alternative for the old Hanukkah dinner - or anytime since beets and carrots are available all year round. In case you are interested in making beet latkes, check out this cool blog for a recipe.

After we finished our yummy latkes, HBJ and I went in for the piece de resistance - Chef Eric's award winning Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Short Ribs. This is the Elvis of all Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. If you like Grilled Cheese (and who doesn't) I highly recommend this dish because its truly unlike any other Grilled Cheese you have ever had. And I am not the only one who recommends it, check out the below clip from The Food Network show "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" featuring Eric's amazing Grilled Cheese. Adam Gertler perfectly describes the "symphony of flavors" that will be dancing in your mouth as you experience this cheesey/meaty food fantasy. After watching the video, I suspect you will run out to The Foundry ASAP - and good news - I have seen two Groupons for The Foundry!

Watch below and you may salivate on your keyboard. It's OK.

While we munched on our latkes and grilled cheese, we took in the songs and stories of the talented, yet humbly earnest, Andrew Belle. What I love the most about watching singer/songwriters is their stories about how and why they wrote their songs. Although I was familiar with his music, I didn't know a lot about him so I was glad that Andrew personalized the event by talking about himself and his music.

Originally from Tennessee and Chicago, Andrew has recently been touring in LA, and the first thing he talked about were his LA culinary experiences - a great move considering the room was full of foodies. Having dined at both the chic Gjelina in Venice and the wildly popular pescatarian favorite, Son of a Gun, on Third St. in the Mid-Wilshire district, he said he needed expandable pants after all the good eating, which made me love him and connect with him right off the bat! I might own a pair of expandable pants or two...

It's apropos that Andrew started his set talking about food because Andrew is a foodie himself. He actually has his own food blog with great pictures! You are quite a food photographer sir Andrew (and from personal experience, I can tell you that photographing food is really hard).

After breaking the ice with the food talk, he got into more details about the stories behind his music. He shared with us that his grandparents paid for him to go to college and that he majored in marketing although ultimately pursued his passion - obviously music. He then played a beautiful song called IN YOUR SLEEP which he wrote near his college and is featured on his 2008 debut EP, ALL THOSE PRETTY LIGHTS. Check out the below live version of IN YOUR SLEEP - A song that I felt was about the potential between two people when only one of them can see that potential....

He also told us how he recorded THE LADDER (which all Guilt City L.A.er's got a complimentary copy of with their purchase) in his friend's basement in Nashville. No expensive fancy studio - just friends making music from the heart in their homes - simple, pure. And that simplicity and purity showed through in his performance.

Next he played a gorgeous song, IN MY VEINS, which I knew from my favorite medical drama/soap opera/sleep-around fest, Grey's Anatomy. Prominently featured in the Season 6 Finale (synopsis: crazy gunmen opens fire at Seattle Grace Hospital and kills two doctors and shoots McDreamy and Karev), IN MY VEINS plays when Dr. Bailey realizes she cannot operate on fatally shot Dr. Percy and holds him in her arms as he slowly dies. I cried during that scene. I cry a lot - so not surprising. IN MY VEINS also plays behind the montage created to depict the entire massacre - I cried during that too.

In this song, Andrew's voice is airy, but a bit sombre. What I hear: uncontrollable and unforeseen bad things happen, and in that moment when tragedy strikes, people - whether friends or strangers - are bound together forever. A timely sentiment as those in various cities across the East Coast suffer together through Hurricane Irene's wrath.

Towards the end of the set, he played the song I knew the best off THE LADDER, the current single, STATIC WAVES. It's catchy, but its bittersweet. It's about the conflicted feelings you go through when breaking up with someone you love and don't want to hurt, but you have to end the relationship because it's just not working out anymore. On the one hand, you will miss that person and the relationship, but on the other hand, you are excited for the possibility of a new chapter and know a weight will be lifted because you had been prolonging this decision long enough.

It's a sucky human feeling, but Andrew helps and he gets it.... Check out the lyrics as you listen because they are right on target to that conflicted feeling.

i count the steps from where i am

to where i started

i tap my feet

and close the door, to your apartment

and i know you're never gonna understand

its too late for you to stop and think

too late to mention

i make a move and spill my drink

to break the tension

i know you're never gonna understand

ill try my best to follow if i can, but

i would have let you leave (x3)

the static waves across the screen

define this notion

back and forth and in between

like my emotion

and i know you're never gonna understand

and wont you slow this down oh if you can

you swayed your hips and stole the breathe

that i was taking

i touched your lips and held your hands

when they were shaking

look how we've fallen upon our knees

how we forgot it

these empty halls held our disease

before we caught it

now out the door and down the stairs from your apartment

i would have let you leave

the static waves across the screen

define this notion

back and forth and in between

like my emotion

now out the door and down the stairsfrom your apartment

i count the steps from where i am

to where i started

i would have let you (x3)

i would have let you leave.

As if the night could not get any better, the climax of the evening came when HBJ and I got to chat with both Andrew and Eric after the show. They were so cool and friendly, and I was totally star struck - and they were even kind enough to let us take a photo :)

It was a beautiful night. Thanks to HBJ for making this happen and to Chef Eric and Andrew for such an irresistible pairing of food and music - and for the photo op!

I've got my Groupon so I will be back to the Foundry shortly for some treats and some more tunes. And you should go too - and by the way, The Foundry is super affordable too!